Prepping for the NBA Draft lottery yet again, the Washington Wizards acquired some name-brand talents amidst yet another lost season.
Though the NBA Playoffs are in full swing, the buzzer has sounded for several other teams on the Association's ledger.
As it stands, 14 teams are focused on a different kind of ball during the hardwood holidays, as ping-pong balls will decide their respective fates at the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery. This year's draft class is stocked with prime talents that will hopefully lead these teams out of the mire, but it's worth analyzing how they got into these situations in the first place.
With that in mind, Ballislife leads into the 2026 Draft Lottery by looking back on the voyages of the damned, going in order of top lottery odds. We tip off by focusing on the Washington Wizards ...
Team: Washington Wizards
Record: 17-65
Last Playoff Appearance: 2021
Chance at No. 1 Pick: 14%
What Went Wrong
The Wizards continued to be cursed.
It was clear that Washington's ongoing rebuild wasn't going to be cleared up or completed with a simple spell, but dark magic ate away at this latest iteration. Traumatized by bad lottery luck and the mistakes of years gone by (i.e., the massive Bradley Beal contract that somehow got transferred to Phoenix), Washington essentially engaged in yet another write-off season, more or less accepting they'd go a fifth consecutive year without a playoff appearance.
Once the Wizards got off to a 1-15 start, any and all inspiration to climb back was essentially eliminated with the knowledge that the comfort of their first-round pick would leave them if it fell out of the top eight, thanks to a previous deal with the New York Knicks. From there, Washington essentially stood as a living, breathing case for lottery reform, boasting sizable injury reports on a nightly basis, which proved to be the best among the worst, clinching the Association's worst record after the penultimate game of the season and never winning more than two games at a time.
TRAE YOUNG WITH THE MOVES —
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) March 6, 2026
Wizards Trae has arrived. 🔥🔥🔥
pic.twitter.com/YR6tihCAiA
A New Era in Washington With Trae Young, Anthony Davis
A good bit of those brutal bookends could be attributed to a tough defensive outing: Washington ranked at or near the bottom of opposing statistics lists, and the Wizards had four representatives among the bottom dozen in defensive rating among those with a minimum of 40 appearances and 15 minutes per game. Washington let up at least 120 points in an astonishing 53 different contests, second-worst in the Association ahead of only equally hapless Utah.
To their credit, the Wizards did use early elimination as a trigger to start building for the future: it got the transactional festivities underway in early January with a trade for divisional rival Trae Young and later added a Dallas-based package headlined by Anthony Davis, fresh off his involvement in the controversial Luka Dončić trade.
The trades sacrificed veteran talents (i.e., CJ McCollum, Khris Middleton) and homegrown washouts (AJ Johnson, Corey Kispert) alike and at least gave Washington some form of name-brand talent to lead the way on the road ahead.
Due to injuries, however, Young made only five showings, and Davis' jersey has yet to be worn in a game. It's not like Washington was truly complaining: the Wizards secured the top odds to land the opening pick at the NBA Draft with a truly dire finish, dropping all but one of their last 25 games.
Top Silver Lining
For all the bad luck they've had at the draft lottery, Washington appears to have struck international gold with the selection of Alex Sarr, the second overall pick in 2024. Sarr came back bigger and stronger after a meandering rookie season. While he wasn't fully immune from the Wizards' defensive struggles, he re-established himself as a scary post threat, averaging two blocks a game to provide some relief in this dreary season.
Washington knew what it was getting in terms of Sarr's defense, but his offensive adaptation really got heads turning this time: after taking over 41 percent of his shot attempts from an ineffective 3-point spot last year, he lowered that tally to 23 percent this time around and became a more effective scorer, raising his average by over three full points from his freshman campaign.
Looking Ahead
First things first: Washington better have stocked up on Felix Felicis going into the Draft Lottery. Ever since the four-spot move-up yielded John Wall in 2010's top slot, the Wizards have advanced their position just once in 10 subsequent visits (getting Otto Porter in 2013). They've also fallen in four showings, including last time around, when Kon Knueppel was denied to them before they settled for Tre Johnson at sixth overall despite posting the second-worst record in the Association.
Trae Young on rookie Tre Johnson: "Tre is an unbelievable shooter but he does more than just shoot... the future is bright"
— WizardsMuse (@WizardsMuse1) March 6, 2026
I'm in love with this Tr(a)e combo already pic.twitter.com/l5WLyr2jNF
Then comes the matter of deciding exactly what sort of dedication they want to bestow on Davis and Young. The latter has a $49 million player option for next season, which could be the setup for a short-term trial run or a sticking point for a nine-figure negotiation that he's eligible to earn by late June. Davis, on the other hand, is under contract for at least next year (set to be a $58.45 million cap hit next season before a similar player option kicks in) before becoming extension-eligible in early August.
Finally, Washington has to figure out what to do with some of its more familiar faces. The team has continued to press hope into head coach Brian Keefe for a third full season at the helm, fully acknowledging that even the greatest coaches would have trouble winning in such a setup. Time will tell what they plan to do with some of their homegrown projects, some of whom are inching toward extensions. At the top of that list is probably 2023's seventh overall choice, Bilal Coulibaly, who took a step backward in several advanced and traditional stats while seeing his position become a bit redundant thanks to the emergence of rookie Will Riley.
Is There Hope?
Even if the Wizards manage to ward off their bad lottery luck, they're probably looking at a few more years in the hardwood wilderness. Having said that, there's a chance to at least get the franchise back in the right direction amidst its current set-up, no matter how wayward the ping pong balls bounce.
It's nice to see Washington take a swing for household names like Davis and Young, especially without sacrificing any homegrown draft assets of either the named or future variety. But asking them to be headliners in 2026 and beyond seems like a tall ask, especially with the financial obligations potentially dedicated to each man.
Atlanta took noticeable steps forward once it finally parted ways with Young, while Davis' medical history has overshadowed an otherwise sterling career. Thus, leave it to Washington to try and push forward with a duology that would've dominated the national television schedule at the tip of the decade.
Perhaps that's part of a larger plan, one that introduces the young and apparently very patient Wizards to a sense of consistent winning. It probably won't pay dividends immediately, but Washington needs any sign of progress after three consecutive seasons with fewer than 20 wins.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
